The United States will provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities," the State Department said on Friday, as Kiev battles Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
"U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself," the department said in a statement.
It said the decision was part of the U.S. effort to help Ukraine defend its territorial integrity and "deter further aggression," but did not specify the capabilities being considered.